Proteome Systems in cancer diagnostic collaboration

Newly-listed Proteome Systems (ASX: PXL) has entered into a collaboration with researchers at the Westmead Children's Hospital and Westmead Millennium Institute to develop diagnostics for the early diagnosis and monitoring of ovarian cancer.

Under the terms of the agreement, Proteome will obtain commercialisation rights to a novel ovarian cancer marker protein, TPD52, discovered by Dr Jennifer Byrne and Dr Anna deFazio. The company will evaluate the protein for potential inclusion in a rapid, non-invasive screening test for the disease.

According to Dr Jenny Harry, Proteome's head of discovery and diagnostics, the company has been working on the development of an ovarian cancer diagnostic for a couple of years.

"The initial study using both proteomics and glycoproteomics approaches has turned up some potential candidate biomarkers for ovarian cancer," Harry said.

As ovarian cancer may have a number of different etiologies, the company is hoping to develop a panel of markers that can be used to screen for the presence of cancer or monitor the progress of existing tumours.

Harry said Byrne and deFazio had approached Proteome with TPD52, which had been well characterised and shown to be present in metastatic ovarian cancer, and not in normal ovarian tissue or benign ovarian tumours. The researchers were interested in collaborating with a company capable of commercialising the protein, she said.

Now the company plans to screen for the marker in its collection of plasma samples from ovarian cancer patients and controls, to evaluate its suitability for use in blood-based diagnostic assays.

Harry said a prototype test would probably take two years to develop and validate, and another year beyond that to test and refine the test on clinical samples.